Tassels are used in a wide variety of decorative applications. Hanging tassels typically employ a loop that is used to suspend the tassel from a chair, lamp, curtain rod, etc. Other types of tassels employ a pair of loops, which enable the tassel to be hung on a hook or bracket and employed as a curtain tie-back.
Conventional tassels normally employ three primary components: a hanging cord, a decorative head (which may comprise various configurations); and a tassel that hangs from the head. These components are permanently interconnected at the factory. Presently, there are no tassels available that permit the homeowner to replace just the head or just the tassel strands. If, for aesthetic reasons, the homeowner decides to modify or change a particular tassel component, he or she must replace the entire product. Changing tassels may be required or desired, for instance, when a room is redecorated or in order to celebrate various holidays and special occasions. Many decorative tassels, and particularly those which employ an intricate head construction, can be fairly expensive. Collecting and maintaining a large number of these tassels can be especially costly and require considerable storage space.
Conventional tassels that employ permanently interconnected components also present problems for the retailer. Oftentimes, it is difficult for storeowners to accurately determine their precise inventory requirements for particular tassel designs. Overstocking and understocking items can increase the retailer's expense and result in customer dissatisfaction. Because the cord, head and tassel are permanently connected, the storeowner has little, if any, flexibility in modifying products to meet unexpected or changing customer demands for a particular design. In the decorative tassel industry, inventory delays are a particularly significant problem because many of these products have to be imported from foreign manufacturers.